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Monday, 7 August 2017

Israel moves to shit down al-Jazeera

I
never once saw al-Jazeera defending the rights of RT, Sputnik or of
Russian journalists.

Israel
moves to close Al Jazeera, ban its journalists

Doha-based
network denounces the decision to revoke credentials of its
journalists and close its offices in Jerusalem.

It
was unclear when Israeli government will act on the request [File:
Reuters]

Israel
plans to revoke media credentials of Al Jazeera journalists and
close the network's office in Jerusalem, the country's communication
minister has announced.

Ayoub
Kara made the announcement on Sunday during a press conference in
Jerusalem, where Al Jazeera was barred from attending.

"We
have based our decision on the move by Sunni Arab states to close
the Al Jazeera offices and prohibiting their work," Kara said,
adding that the channel is being used by groups to "incite"
violence - an accusation the network has denied.

Kara
said he expects Israel's parliament, the Knesset, to consider his
request in the next session.

"I
will go through the legislatory mechanism to create the authority in
which I can act freely. We will try to end it as quickly as
possible."

"Al
Jazeera will continue to cover the events of the occupied
Palestinian territories professionally and accurately, according to
the standards set by international agencies, such as the UK Office
of Communications (Ofcom)."

The
pan-Arab network's offices in the Palestinian territories of Gaza
and the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, however, would not be
affected by the current Israeli move.

The
Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, also known as
Adalah, also challenged the plan, saying it would be subject to
scrutiny before the Supreme Court, adding that "it would fail
the test of legaыlity".

Al
Jazeera's Scott Heidler, reporting from Jerusalem on Sunday, said
that the request to revoke the credentials cover all the network's
journalists in both the Arabic and English channels.

It
was unclear when the government will act on the request.

Our
correspondent reported that Israel is also seeking to shut down Al
Jazeera's cable and satellite transmissions in the country.

During
the press conference, Kara also said that the interior ministry will
also be involved in shutting down Al Jazeera's office in Jerusalem.

Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been threatening to shut Al
Jazeera's operations in the country, accusing the network of
inciting violence against Israel.

Marwan
Bishara, Al Jazeera senior political analyst, said the latest move
by Israel shows a "synergy" of "dictatorships"
in the Arab world and "dictatorship of military occupation in
Palestine".

"It
is as if closing down a network will diminish violence, when
everyone knows that repression and military occupation, and
aggression is the reason for violence in the region. Not reporting
it."

Attack
on press freedom

In
an interview with Al Jazeera, Rami Khouri of the American University
in Beirut, denounced the plan saying it is "very typical of
regimes" in the region.

"Regimes
that want to control power will almost always go after two targets -
the media and the foreigners. Everybody goes after the media."

"Censoring
Al Jazeera or closing its offices will not bring stability to the
region, but it would put Israel firmly in the camp of some of the
region's worst enemies of press freedom," CPJ Middle East and
North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour said in a statement.

"Israel
should abandon these undemocratic plans and allow Al Jazeera and all
journalists to report freely from the country and areas it
occupies," it said.

In
recent months, Saudi Arabia and Jordan both shut down Al Jazeera
bureaus as part of a coordinated diplomatic and economic campaign
against Qatar, where the headquarters
of Al Jazeera Media Network is located.

Al
Jazeera's signal has also been blocked in the United Arab Emirates.

Egypt,
which is also part of the blocking group, banned Al Jazeera several
years ago